Sex abuse suspect to enter plea Sept. 19

Published 1:45 pm Wednesday, June 22, 2022

A Baker City man arrested in March on multiple sex crime charges is not scheduled to enter a plea in the case until Sept. 19.

Jerry Ray Shaw Jr., 40, was arrested March 21.

He has been in the Baker County Jail since then.

Baker County Circuit Court Judge Matt Shirtcliff set Shaw’s bail at $1 million. Shaw could be released by posting 10% of that amount — $100,000. Shirtcliff also required that if Shaw posts bail, a hearing will take place prior to his release.

A grand jury on March 24 indicted Shaw on 11 felony counts. If Shaw were convicted on all or most counts, he could be sentenced to spend more than 30 years in prison.

The charges include five counts of first-degree sodomy, a Class A felony; two counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, a Class A felony; and four counts of first-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony.

Each of the three crimes is a felony, and all are Measure 11 offenses, meaning they carry mandatory minimum prison sentences on conviction.

First-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual penetration both have mandatory minimum sentences of 8 years and 4 months for each count on which a defendant is convicted.

First-degree sexual abuse has a mandatory minimum of 6 years and 3 months on each count.

In addition, the case could potentially involve “Jessica’s Law for Oregon,” which the Oregon Legislature passed in 2006. That law includes a 25-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for people convicted of first-degree sex crimes against a child younger than 12.

The alleged victim is a juvenile girl known to Shaw. The alleged abuse happened between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2015, in Baker City, according to court documents. The victim was younger than 14 throughout the period, and younger than 12 in some instances.

According to a report from Detective Zach Thatcher of the Baker City Police, the investigation started on the morning of March 15, when he received a child welfare report from the Department of Human Services documenting the victim disclosing past sexual abuse during an interview earlier that day.

Shaw was arraigned on the 11 counts in Baker County Circuit Court on March 28.

After a status check hearing on June 15, a hearing was set for Sept. 19 during which Shaw is scheduled to enter a plea.

According to a court record, Shaw’s court-appointed attorney, Robert Moon of Baker City, will have Shaw evaluated. The record does not specify the type of evaluation.